ExploraTour: A Peek into the Lives of the Stars

Click on image for full size Prof. Robert Walker, McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, MO

Where are Stars Born?

New stars are formed in clouds of gas and dust that
are in outer space between the stars.

If you're picturing a dense fog
cloud, think again.
Typically in a dust cloud, you would have to search long and hard to
find a single dust grain in a space the length of a football field on
each side.

And then the dust grain is very small. About 4000 dust
grains could fit across a sucker stick.

The picture on the left shows a dust particle from outer space, which
researchers have named Florianus. The dust particle is so small we could
not see it with only our eyes. It was collected by a high-flying
airplane in our own atmosphere.

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